Chapter 92 Part 92
Emerson
That was the moment Emerson fell in love with Asher Fitzgerald. She’d never forget that precise moment when the horse stood behind him, and he lifted his hand to rub him. He’d been talking to the horse the whole time, but he was too far away for her to hear the actual words.
It was magical watching him with that stallion. Eden glanced at her, and started laughing. Her cheeks heated because she was sure it showed on her face. That was going to be a problem.
“Oh boy,” Eden said, and laughed again as they walked back to her office.
“Shut up,” Emerson hissed.
“I know that look, all too well,” she said. “He’s worth it, Emma, trust me on that one.”
“It doesn’t matter. I have to leave the moment Grover’s caught, and who knows how long that trial will last.”
“I get it. It might be best then not to let him know how you feel. Asher doesn’t do casual. He doesn’t sleep around and he gets to know someone before it leads to the bedroom. He’s not the guy for you if you’re just looking for a fling to pass the time. He will, however, treat you like a lady. He was raised that way. He wouldn’t cheat, and he would do everything in his power to keep you happy,” Eden said.
“You’re not making this easy on me.”
“I’m sorry, but my brother deserves more than just to be a side thing for a few weeks.”
Muffled laughter came from the hallway, and Emerson’s eyes widened. Eden jumped up from her chair and pulled the door open. “Colt!”
“What? I can’t help what you two talk about,” he said.
“Did you hear our entire conversation?” Emerson asked him.
“Yeah, I did. But Eden’s not wrong. Asher’s the kind of man you marry, and settle down with. He’s not the fling type.”
“I never said I wanted to have a fling with him!” Her voice had risen louder, and Colt shook his head.
“Who’s having a fling with whom?” Dylan called.
Emerson groaned, and lowered her head to the table. “It just keeps on getting better.”
“Emma wants to take Asher for a joyride,” Colt said.
“Colt!” He ducked his head, and the stapler thudded against the wall behind him.
“He might get some personality after that,” Dylan said.
“She didn’t even say she liked Asher!” Eden said, loudly. “We were talking, in general. She asked if she was cramping Asher’s dating life with her living in his house.”
“Oh,” Colt said. “Well, that was anticlimactic.” The two brothers walked down the hall, and Eden sat down again.
“Thank you,” Emerson said, softly.
“I don’t even know if he’s ready to start something new. Asher’s a little broken when it comes to emotional stuff. Women fall in love with him very easily. Half the town’s in love with him, and he doesn’t even know it.”
“I can see how that happens. The way he was with that horse…it was just so magical,” Emerson said.
“He has a way with horses. He whispers to them, and they always listen. You’ll see, Asher will have a saddle on that horse before the end of the week.”
“It’s not like I’m going to wait naked in his bed, Eden. I’m not that type. I do like him. He’s a good man, and I can see he’s the type of man any woman would want to settle down with. I was just caught up in the moment. Besides, Asher thinks I’m more of a nuisance that he has to watch, than anything else,” Emerson said.
“Uh huh.”
Thunder cracked loudly outside, and both women jumped. Eden sighed, and grabbed her keys. “I better get you back to Asher’s house. I was hoping the storm would only catch us later on.”
“Isn’t Asher out in the fields with Blair?”
“They’ll be fine. Blair can smell a storm coming. They’ll be on their way back,” Eden said.
The first few raindrops started falling as they ran from the barn to Eden’s truck. The wind picked up, and by the time Eden parked in front of Asher’s house, the rain was pouring down.
“You want me to wait with you?” Eden asked.
“No, I’ll be fine. I’ll get dinner started so that when Asher gets back he doesn’t have to worry about feeding me.”
“Did he give you the whole ‘pull your own weight’ speech?”
Emerson grinned. “He did. I’ll see you later.”
“He likes steak with salad!” Eden yelled, before Emerson closed the door.
She nodded, smiled and waved, before running up the steps to the porch. She got the key beneath the ceramic chicken, and unlocked the front door.
When she opened the door, Eden pulled away, and she locked the door behind her again. She was almost dripping wet and she took off her shoes in the foyer. She ran upstairs and got undressed. She was about to open the tap in the shower when she realized she hadn’t taken the steaks out of the freezer.
She wrapped the towel around her body, and went downstairs to the kitchen. She opened the freezer and bent over, looking for the steaks. A throat cleared behind her, and she turned around quickly.
Asher stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the mudroom. In his underwear. His hair was dripping water, and she clutched the towel tighter around her.
“I…uhm…was looking for the steaks,” she said. Asher’s eyes roamed over her, and she ran out of the kitchen without closing the freezer.
In that split-second she’d contemplated letting the towel fall, but Eden’s words replayed themselves in her mind. She had also noticed the scars on his abdomen and chest, and she just knew that if he turned around, she’d see the same scars on his back.
‘What the hell happened to you, Asher?’ she thought to herself, once she was back in the safety of her bedroom. She shook her head and took a quick shower. He would want to shower, as well. She heard his footsteps go past her room as she got dressed.
The scars took nothing away from his looks. The fact that she noticed that little titbit scared her a little. She liked him too much for her own good.