Chapter Ten

 

Enough! Colby dashed a quick hand over her traitorous eyes and slapped on her Mean Bitch mask, the one that had gotten her through boot camp, war, and tougher times than this. She swallowed her fears and faced her deadliest opponent, the man she now knew without a doubt, loved her. Ash had been so tender with her mother, heartbreakingly so. A man with kindness running that deep could hurt her, but she wouldn’t stand for it.

“Do you have any paper?” he asked out of the blue, slapping his chest like he was feeling for a pocket. “A couple of pencils wouldn’t hurt, either. Maybe a good eraser. I’ve none on me.”

“In my desk drawer.” She pointed him to her bedroom. Yes, he was puzzled at what had just taken place in her mother’s bedroom, well, so the hell was she. Never had she expected that confession of concern from Bella. Her head spun with the revelation that maybe, just maybe, she’d misinterpreted her mother’s overbearing personality and sniping remarks all these years. “I kept a ream of printer paper in the bottom drawer when I lived here. Take what you need.” And go before I fall apart and make a bigger fool of myself.

He nodded, his eyes so full of concern that she wanted to scream. “Your mum needs you,” he offered calmly. “Would it be okay if I chatted with her later today? If I’m here, I mean. I will nah step on your toes if you do nah want me to see her again.”

What could she say? She wasn’t that cruel. “I don’t care if you do or not.” That came out meaner than she’d intended. “It’s just that… all these years…” Her pride caught in her throat. “Mom never told me she was worried about me, and I… I…” I thought she hated me.

His gaze narrowed. “Parents have funny ways of telling us they love us, Lass. My da used to whip my stubborn ass, and the whole time he did, he’d be telling me ‘twas because he loved me. Even over me screeching me lungs out at ‘im to lay off, he kept a-pounding me backside, and I kept a-screaming. But to this day, I have nah doubt he loved me.”

A choked chuckle burst out of her at that comical picture: Ash bent over his dad’s knee, getting his ass whipped. He must’ve been a hellion as a boy.

Damned if he didn’t wrangle a big, warm arm around her, and damned if she didn’t let him. “Would you like to see what I’ve got in mind for me warehouse now that we both know who’s not going to be loaning me the cash to build it?”

Colby swallowed her pride. “Not now. There are too many things unsettled. I need to get another doctor in to assess Mom’s condition. Tula thought Alzheimer’s, but after seeing her like this, I’m not so sure. And I’ve got to talk with my father’s friend, Mitch Rhoades, and I’ve got other…” For lack of a better word. “…stuff to do.”

“Ah, your board of directors guy.”

“How’d you know him?”

“I went looking for my trousers, and…” He did a smooth Vanna White impression, gesturing over his chest and down his thigh. For the first time, Colby noticed the freshly washed jeans and gray Henley she’d laundered for him—like some doting woman. Ah, she’d done exactly as she’d always declared she wouldn’t. But damn. The man did clean up fine.

“Your maid told me his name. She and I had a spot of tea after you left me with nothing but me underwear this morning. She likes to talk, does she nah?”

Colby leaned into the powerful frame at her side, her hackles lowered, and for once, enjoying the strength of Ash. “She also likes to answer her own questions and thinks she knows better than you.”

Ash steered her toward the staircase. “You go take care of your business then, and I’ll take care of mine. Sound good?”

“I might take a while. Are you going to…?” How does one eat humble pie? She tried again. “Will you be here when I get back?”

He had the nerve to wink. “You didn’t scare me off this morning, darlin’, if that’s what you’re asking. I’ll be here, but I won’t be keeping the hearth fires burning nor will I be baking your bread, if that’s all you think I’m good for.”

She nearly laughed. He’d just thrown her words back at her without one hint of the in-your-face sarcasm she’d used.

He landed a hard smack to her ass. “Go on, now. Be off with you.”

Damn him. That male chauvinist spank made her… smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ash turned on his heel before he did something dumber than smacking Colby’s sweet backside—like kissing it. Back in her bedroom, he made the bed and straightened the pillows, just to keep on the friendly side of his woman. He capped the shampoo bottle in her girly bathroom, so she wouldn’t think he was a complete freeloader. When everything looked neat and in its place, he settled in the leather office chair at her masterpiece of a solid oak, roll-top desk.

Saints be praised, the haves in this world surely had it better than the have-nots. He stroked the honey-gold grain of what had to be the prettiest white oak he’d laid eyes on in years. An antique, the high gloss finish protected it well. One of the cubbyhole drawers was a tad tight opening, but a spritz of wax would cure that. He opened the pencil drawer, intending on borrowing two—until he spied his name written in the center of a flowery heart.

“What have we here?” What was he supposed to do, pretend he hadn’t seen it? Uh-uh, no way. This little masterpiece deserved its due praise. He pulled the decorated tablet out, just for a quick look-see, mind you.

Glory be to God, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. The inside cover was one big mosaic doodle ofAsh Callahans, some written in exquisitely feminine cursive, some in variations ofprint, some sideways, and others upside down. These were not the doodlings of some lovesick high school crush. The subject matter on those narrow-lined pages was calculus. Bloody college calculus. Though few they’d been, he recognized some of the formulas from his own college days.

Leaning back in Colby’s chair, Ash took his time leafing through her little secret. That woman of his was as intelligent and creative as she was beautiful. The more he studied the fine art mingled with formulas as long as the pages, he had to wonder. Why should an intelligent woman like her not want her due place in the world of men? It was rightful. He could see it now. Why hold her back?

Had that been what her stint in the Army had been about? Her searching for the recognition she hadn’t received at home? Was that what had fed her competitive spirit? What pushed her? Her need to be seen, to be recognized for her true worth?

“I think I’m finally seeing you now, Lass,” he muttered to himself as he licked his thumb and turned another page. One by one, the creations on each well-inked sheet of narrow-lined paper made him smile. She’d scrawled and decorated lavish curliqued vines and leaves, other hearts, but only two names. Always his. Always hers.

There were so many facets to the woman he loved, and, like a diamond, she shone in every one. Her soccer and military careers were just two of many sides. Yet she puzzled him. She’d said she intended to dissolve her father’s business, yet that business seemed precisely her cup of tea. She had the skills, the razor sharp business sense, and she was the strongest woman on earth, of that he was quite sure. Why did she not take the helm and steer Quaid, Inc. into greater heights of financial success? Why not be the daring woman she was meant to be, since—by all the holy saints—she already was?

He grunted at the paradox that was his Colby. Soft and sweet. Hard as nails. Yet, Colby seemed tossed on some storm, at least in her mind, as if she was not ready to settle. Worse, as if she didn’t know where to settle. Was it the freedom of the road that truly called her, or was it fear, maybe of failure, that kept her running far from home? Ash planned to find out.

He did eventually locate the printer paper, and he did replace the tablet in the same place he’d found it, but saints be praised. The things Colby had left behind when she’d chased after her Army dream puzzled him. He had half a mind to keep on snooping, but no. He’d wait until she chose to share her heart. It was enough to know…

She does love me.