Chapter 44 Part 44
Asher
A week went by, but nothing remarkable happened. Asher went about his duties on the ranch, and in his spare time, he started building the gazebo in his work shed.
Dakota jumped into the truck with Maggie in the mornings, and went with Melody, but in the afternoons and nights, he stayed by Asher’s side until they went to bed. Then he went back to Melody and slept in her room, where his pillow bed now rested in one corner.
Eden and Maggie kept themselves busy planning Melody’s first birthday party, and an idea came to him. He dusted the sawdust from his jeans, washed his hands, and headed to his truck.
Asher didn’t have far to go. He spotted Pastor Mitchells in the coffee shop. Both Amy and Jennifer were there, but he gritted his teeth, and sat down opposite the man.
“Good morning, Pastor.”
“Asher, it’s good to see you. How is Maggie doing?”
“She’s fine, but I wanted to talk to you about something,” Asher said.
“Sure,” he replied.
“I’ve asked Maggie to marry me,” Asher said. Jennifer gasped loudly next to him, and the cup in her hands shattered on the floor.
“That’s wonderful news, Asher!”
Jennifer hurried away while a busboy was already picking up the pieces of the broken cup. Asher shook his head, and he knew that the whole town would be talking about them before the end of the day.
“We were thinking of having the ceremony out at the ranch in mid-Spring.”
“I’ll need a definite date for my calendar, but I don’t foresee any problems,” Pastor Mitchells said.
“I wanted to find out something else. I’m also planning on adopting Melody after the wedding. Is it better to wait for the adoption to go through before we baptize her?”
Pastor Mitchells smiled. “I would recommend waiting until after the adoption is through. That way you stand before God as her father.”
“Yeah, that sounds good to me,” Asher said, feeling contentment with the idea.
“I hate to ask this, Asher, but is Maggie pregnant? Is that why you’re getting married so quickly?”
Asher laughed, his shoulders shaking as he tried to suppress it. “No, Maggie’s not pregnant. I know this is right, and Maggie knows it’s right. Melody already calls me Dada. I want it to stay that way.”
“I’m really happy for you, Asher. May God bless your upcoming union,” he said.
“Thanks, Pastor. I need to get going,” Asher said, and stood up from the table.
“Send my regards to your father.”
Asher left the coffee shop, almost walking right into Lorelei. The look on her face was one of pure anger. He didn’t have the energy for one of her rants, nor did he want to discuss his life with her.
“How could you?”
Asher sighed, and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’m happy, Lorelei. She makes me happy. I’m marrying her, and I’m adopting Melody. That is the end of the story. What I do, and who I do it with, is none of your concern.”
Asher walked away from her without another word, and got into his truck. She was still standing in the exact same position when he drove away. Nothing else was going to work, except rudeness.
Two sheriff cruisers raced past him with their lights flashing, and sirens blaring. Asher watched in dismay as they took the dirt road that led past their ranch and into the wilderness beyond.
Within a few minutes, Asher was back in his shed, working on the gazebo. He kept glancing out the door to the mountain in the distance and beyond that, the ravine that held so many secrets.
The hours dragged by slowly, and Asher’s head snapped up at every sound. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to get a grip on himself. You got caught when you panicked.
That night, they had dinner at the main house. It was Friday, and everybody was glad the week was finally over. The cold was settling in more, but the house exuded warmth, safety, and a feeling of contentment.
“Bless us, Father, as we gather as a family. Bless the food we are about to eat, and bless the hands that made it. We give our thanks for the bounty from the land that we work on, and we pray for Your blessing on the yield it provides. Amen.”
“Amen.” The voices chorused together; Eden stood up, and took the lids off the dishes.
Melody had started saying more words, some still just sounds, but she’d started saying Momma and ‘Cole,’ which Colt loved, and Grandpa. Dylan had pointed out that his name was difficult for her and that Colt wasn’t special. They’d been arguing about it ever since.
The front door opened, and Finn walked into the dining room a few seconds later, still dressed in his deputy uniform. “Sorry, I’m late.”
Asher could feel Finn’s eyes on him, but he ignored it, refusing to look up. Eden dished up a plate for Finn, and he sat down. When he sighed loudly, everyone stopped eating to look at him.
“Something you feel like sharing?” Thomas asked.
“Old man Granger found a body on the banks of the river this afternoon,” Finn said.
“A body?” Eden asked, her voice filled with shock.
Asher’s body stiffened, and he lowered his fork, and finally looked at Finn. He couldn’t decipher the look in his brother’s eyes, but he had no problem guessing exactly what it was he was thinking.
“Tallish, lean, light blonde hair,” Finn said.
“The man Asher overheard in town? The one looking for Maggie?” Blair asked.
“His name is Malcolm Walters, aged 36.”
“How’d he die?” Dylan asked him, shoveling another forkful of potatoes in his mouth.
“Hard to say right now. He was either killed and thrown into the ravine where the summer rains had pushed the river higher so the body floated downstream to the banks where Mr. Granger found him, or he fell,” Finn said.
“Maybe he jumped,” Colt said with a grin.
Nobody laughed, and Maggie glanced at Asher. He could feel it, even though he wasn’t looking at her. He didn’t say anything as he continued to eat.
“Dr. Hammond will do an autopsy, then we’ll know more. Tomorrow, I’ll retrace his steps,” Finn said, looking at Asher again. “Did he ever show up at the ranch?”
“No,” Asher said. He pushed his plate away, stood up, and walked out of the dining room. A moment later, they all heard the front door close as Asher left the house.